F YOD OR D OSTOEVSKY

THE BROTHERS
KARAMAZOV
A No u el i n Four P arts w i tb E pi l ogae

Translated and Annotated by

Richard Peaear and Larissa Volokbonsky

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX

New Yorh
 TheGrandlnquisitor 247
716 TheBrothersKsramazov

{br whom you are building t)amede Paris.in the Parisof Louis XI, to honor the birth of the French dau-
'And can you admit the idea that the people
blood of a tortured phin, an edifying performance is given free of charge for the people in the city
*o;il;gr;" io accept tt'"i' huppi""ss onthe unjustified
forever happy?" lrall, entitled Le bon jugement de la trls sainteet gracieuseYierge Marie ,' in
chitd, anl having acceptedit, to remain which she herselfappearsin personand pronouncesher bonjugement.With
his eyesbeginning
"No, l cannot admit it' Brother'''Alyosha said suddenly'
in the whole world a being who could rrsin Moscow, in pre-Petrineantiquity,'zmuchthe samekind o[dramatic per-
to flash, "you urk.a i,,,t to* if ttrere is Iormances,especiallyfrom the Old Testament,were given from time to time;
there is such a being' and he can for'
and would have the right to forgive' But but, besidesdramatic performances,there were many stories and 'verses'
gavehis innocent
g;" ing, forgive all andjor dt"'because he himself
"""ry,tall and for everything' VouVe forgotten about him' but it is on him lloating around the world in which saints, angels,and all the powers of
blood for lrcaventook part asneeded.In our monasteriessuch poemswere translated,
to him that theywill cry out: Just art
thut th" rtr.,.ture is beingbuili, and it is rr:copied,even composed-and when?-under the Tartars.There is, for ex-
"
thou,
- O Lord, for thy ways have been revealed!' ,rnrple,one little monasterypoem (from the Greek,of course):TheMotherof
lntr, yes, the'only sinless One"' and his bloodl No' I have not forgotten
(;odfisits theTormentslwith scenesof a boldnessnot inferior to Dante's.The
about him; on tt .orrt l've beenwondering all the while wtry youhadn't
"ry, becausein discussionsyour people usually trot
" so long' Mother of God visits hell and the Archangel Michael guides her through 'the
ilrorrgt, hi* tp for r()rments.'She seessinners and their sufferings.Among them, by the way,
you knlw, Alyosha-don't laugh!-l composed a poem
him out first thing. rhereis a most amusingclassof sinnersin a burning lake: someof them sink
more minutes on me' I'll tell it to
once, about a year ago. If you can waste ten ,,t'far down into the lake that they can no longer come up again,and'these
vou." t,od forgets'-an expressionof extraordinary depth and force. And so the
"You wrote a Poem?" Mother of God, shockedandweeping,fallsbeforethe throne of God and asks
..Oh, no, l didn t write it,,, Ivan laughed, ..1\e never composed two lines o[
poem and memorized it' I made it ;,rrrdonfor everyonein hell, everyoneshehasseenthere,without distinction.
lr"rr" in my whole life. BurI made up this I lcr conversationwith God is immenselyinteresting.Shepleads,shewon't go
*""" listener' Why' indeed'
up in great fervor. You'll be my first readti-I ,rway,and when God points out to her the nail-piercedhandsand feet of her
shouldanauthorloseevenonelistener?''Ivangrinned...Shallltellitornot?'' son and asks:'How can I forgivehis tormentors?'shebids all the saints,all the
"l'm listening carefully," said Alyosha' nrartyrs,all the angelsand archangelsto fall down together with her and
absurd thing' but I want
"My poem is called'ihe Grand tnquisitor'-an plcadfor the pardon of all without discrimination.In the end sheextorts from
you to hear it." t,od a cessationof torments every year, from Holy Friday to Pentecost,and
rlrcsinnersin hell at once thank the Lord and cry out to him: Just art thou' O
I trrd,who hastjudged so.'Well, my little poem would havebeenof the same
l<indif it had appearedback then. He comesonstagein it; actually,he says
Chapter5 rrothingin the poem, he just appearsand passeson. Fifteen centurieshave

TheGrandlnquisitor lioneb) since he gavethe promise to come in his Kingdom, fifteencenturies

',rncehis prophet wrote: 'Behold,I come quicklyr'"'Of that day and that hour
Itnowethnot even the Son, but only my heavenlyFather,''as he himself de-
, llred while still on earth. But mankind awaitshim with the samefaith and
"Buthere,too,it'simpossibletodowithoutapreface'aliterarypreface'that rlrc same tender emotion. Oh, even with greater faith, for fifteen centuries
ll You see' my action
ir-f"fti" Ivan laughed, "and what sort of w-riter am lr.rvegone by sincemen ceasedto receivepledgesfrom heaven:
back then-by the way' you must
takes place in the sixteenth century, and
was customary in poetic works to Believewhat the hearttellsyou,
have learned this in school-back then it
t need to mention Dante' ln France' For heavenoffersno pledge."
U.i"g t tgtt* powers down to earth' I don
gavewhole performances
court clerks, as well as monks in the monasteries, orrly faith in what the heart tells you! frue, there were also many miracles
inwhichtheybroughttheMadonna'angels'saints'Christ'andGodhimself rlrt'n.There were saintswho performed miraculous healings;to some righ-
artlessly' ln Victor Hugo's Notre
on stage. At ihe time it was all done quite
r 248 TheBrothersKaram*zoY
teousmen, accordingto their biographies,the Queenof Heavenherselfcame
down. But the devil never rests, and there had already arisen in mankind
some doubt as to the authenticity of thesemiracles.Justthen, in the north, in
Germany,a horrible new heresyappeared''A great star,'like a lamp' (that is,
the Church) , 'fell upon the fountains of waters,and they were made bitter.'u
These heretics began blasphemouslydenying miracles.But those who still
believedbecameall the more ardent in their belief.The tearsof mankind rose
up to himasbefore, theywaited forhim, lovedhim, hopedinhim, yearnedto
suffer and die for him asbefore . . . And for so many centuries mankind had
been pleading with faith and fire: 'God our Lord, revealthyself to us,'nfor so
many centuriesthey had beencalling out to him, that he in his immeasurable
compassion desired to descend to those who were pleading. He had de'
scendedeven before then, he had visited some righteousmen' martyrs, and
holy hermis while they were still on earth, as is written in their'lives.'Our
own Tyutchev, who deeply believed in the truth of his words, proclaimed
that:
Bentunder the burdenof the Cross,
The King of Heavenin the form of a slave
Walked the length and breadthof you,
Blessingyou, my nativeland.'o
It must needshave been so, let me tell you. And so he desired to appearto
people if only for a moment-to his tormented,sufferingpeople,rank with
sin but loving him like children. My action is set in Spain, in Seville,in the
mosrhorrible time of the lnquisition, when firesblazedeveryday to the glory
ofGod, and
In the splendidauto-da-f6
Evil heretics were burnt."
Oh, of course,this was not that coming in which he will appear,accordingto
his promise, at the end of time, in all his heavenlyglory, and which will be as
sudden'as the lightning that shineth out of the eastunto the west."'No, he
desiredto visit his children if only for a moment, and preciselywherethe fires
of the heretics had begun to crackle. In his infinite mercy he walked once
againamong men, in the samehuman imageinwhich hehadwalked for three
y"rrc u-o.tg men fifteen centuries earlier. He came down to the 'scorched
of a southern townwherejust the daybefore,in a'splendidauto-da'
squares'r3
f6,' in the presenceof the king, the court, knights, cardinals,and the loveliest
court ladies,before the teeming populaceof all Seville,the Cardinal Grand
lnquisitor had burned almost a hundred heretics at once admajorem gloriam
TheGrandlnquisitor
I rri." He appearedquietly, inconspicuously,but, strangeto say,everyonerec-
,
'linizedhim. This could be one of the bestpassages
249
in the poem, I mean,why
rr is exactly that they recognize him. Peopleare drawn to him by an invincible
Lrrce,they flock to him, surround him, followhim. He passessilentlyamong
rlrcm with a quiet smile of infinite compassion.The sun of love shines in
lris heart, rays of Light, Enlightenment, and Power stream from his eyes
,rnd,pouring over the people, shake their heartswith responding love. He
',rrctchesforth his hands to them, blessesthem, and from the touch of him,
, vcn oDly of his garments,comes a healing power. Here an old man, blind
lr om childhood, callsout from the crowd: 'Lord, healme so thatI, roo, cansee
r','rr,'andit is as if the scalesfell from his eyes,and the blind man seeshim.
l\'ople weep and kiss the earth he walks upon. Children throw down flowers
l,r'lirrehim, sing and cry'Hosanna!'tohim. 'It'she,it'sreallyhe,'everyonere,
grr':rts,'itmust be he, it can be no one but he.'He stopsat the porch of the Se-
urllt:cathedralat the very moment when a child's little, open, white coffin is
l','rngbroughtin with weeping:in itlies a seven-year-oldgirl, the only daugh-
r{'r of a noble citizen. The dead child is coveredwith flowers.'He will raise
1,'rrr child,'people in the crowd shout to the weepingmother. The cathedral
1'.rrlre,who hascomeout to meetthe coffrn,looks perplexedand frowns. Sud-
,1,'rrlya wail comesfrom the deadchild's mother. She throws herselfdown at
lrr' Ieet:'If it is you, then raisemy child!'she exclaims,stretchingher hands
,rrrtto hiil]. The processionhalts, the little coffin is lowered down onto the
;r.r'r'hat his feet.He looks with compassionand his lips once againsoftly ut-
r, r 'Talitha curmi'-'and the damselarose."tThe girl risesin her coffin, sits up
,rrrtl,smiling, looks around her in wide-eyedastonishment.She is still hold-
rrrplthe bunch of white roseswith which she had been lying in the coffin.
i lrr'reis a commotion among the people,cries,weeping,and at this very mo-
rrrtntth€ Cardinal Grand Inquisitor himself crossesthe squarein front of the
, ,rtlrcdral.He is an old rnan,almost ninety, tall and straight,with a gaunt face
,, I sunken eyes,from which a glitter still shineslike a fiery spark. Oh, he is
",
rrr,rvgnling his magnificentcardinal'srobesin which he had displayedhim-
,, ll to the people the day before,when the enemiesof the Roman faith were
I'rr111gd-ns,at this momenthe is wearingonly his old, coarsemonasticcas-
.,', li He is followed at a certaindistanceby his grim assistantsand slaves,and
t'v rlrc'holy'Buard. At the sight of the crowd he stopsand watchesfrom afar.
I lr lrasseeneverything,seenthe coffin set down at his feet,seenthe girl rise,
,,",1his facedarkens.He scowlswith his thick, gray eyebrows,and his eyes
I'rrrt'with a sinister fire. He stretchesforth his finger and orders the guard to
r ri,r' Irim. And such is his power, so tamed,submissive,and tremblingly obe-
,lr, 111 16his will are the people,that the crowd immediatelyparts before the
250 TheBrothersKoramazoY
guard, and they, amidst the deathly silence that has suddenly fallen, lay their
f,ands on him and lead him away.As one man the crowd immediately bows to
the ground before the aged Inquisitor, who silently blessesthe people and
*o,0", on. The guard lead their plisoner to the small, gloomy, vaulted prison
in the old building of the holy court, and lock him there. The day is over, the
Sevillenight comes,dark, hot, and'breathless.'Theair is'fragrantwith laurel
and lemon."6 In the deep darkness,the iron door of the prison suddenly
opens,and the old Grand Inquisitorhimself slowlyenterscarryinga lamp. He
ls alone, the door is immediately locked behind him. He stands in the en'
tranceand for a long time, for a minute or two, gazesinto his face.At last he
quietly approaches,sets the lamp on the table, and says to him: 'Is it you?
You?'But receivingno answer,he quickly adds:'Do not answer,be silent.Af'
ter all, what could you say?I know too well what you would say.And you have
no right to add anything ro what you already said once. why, then, have you
.o*" to interfere with us? For you have come to interfere with us and you
know it yourself. But do you know what will happen tomorrow? I do not
know who you are, and I do not want to know: whether it is you, or only his
likeness;but tomorrow I shall condemnyou and burn you at the stakeas the
rnostevil of heretics,and the very peoplewho today kissedyour feet,tomor.
row, at a nod from me, will rush to heap the coalsup around your stake,do
you know that? Yes,perhapsyou do know it,'he added,pondering deeply,
never for a moment taking his eyesfrom his prisoner."
,.Idon'tquite understandwhatthis is, lvan,"Alyosha,who all thewhilehad
been listening silently, smiled. "Is it boundlessfantasy,or some mistake on
the old man'spart, some impossiblequi pro quo?""
"Assumeit's the latter, if you like," Ivan laughed,"if you're so spoiled by
modern realism and can't stand anything fantastic-if you want it to be qul
pro quo,Ietit be. Of course,"he laughedagain,"the man is ninety yearsold,
and might have lost his mind long ago over his idea. H.emight have been
struck by the prisoner'sappearance.It might, finally, havebeensimple delir'
ium, the vision of a ninety-year-oldman nearing death,and who is excited,
besides,by the auto-da-f6of a hundred burnt hereticsthe day before.But istr't
it all the sameto you and me whether it's quipro quo orboundlessfantasy?Thc
only thing is that the old man needs to speak out, that finally after all his
ninety years,he speaksout, and saysaloud all that he has been silent about
for ninety years."
,And the prisoner is silent, too?
Just looks at him without sayinga word?"
,,Butthat must be so in any case,"Ivan laughedagain."The old man himself
points out ro him that he hasno right to add anything to what hasalreadybeen
saidonce.That, if you like, is the mostbasicfeatureof RomanCatholicism,itt
TheGrandlnquisitor 25r
rrryopinion at least:'Everything,'they say,'hasbeen handed over by you to
rhc pope, therefore everything now belongs to the pope, and you may as well
n()tcome at all now, or at leastdon't interferewith us for the time being.'They
n()tonly speak this way, they also write this way, at leasttheJesuitsdo. I've
rcad it in their theologians myself. 'Have you the right to proclaim to us even
,
'ne
of the mysteriesof that world from which you have come?'my old man
.rskshim, and answersthe question himself: 'No, you have not, so as not to
,,tldtowhathasalreadybeensaidonce, andsoasnotto deprivepeopleof free-
rhrm,lor which you stood so firmly when you were on earth.Anything you
Irxrclaimanewwill encroachupon the freedomo[men's faith, for itwill come
,rsa miracle,and the freedomof their faith was the dearestof all things to you,
,'vcnthen, one and a half thousandyearsago.Was itnotyouwho so often said
rlrtn: "I want to make you free"?t"But now you have seenthese"free" men,'
rlrt:old man suddenly addswith a pensivesmile.'Yes,this work has cost us
, h'arl/,' he goeson, looking sternly at him, 'but we have finally finished this
rvork in yeul name. For fifteen hundred yearswe have been at pains over this
lr cr:dom,but now it is finished,and well finished.You do not believethat it is
wcll finished?You look at me meekly and do not deign even to be indignant
rvrthme. Know, then, that now, preciselynow, thesepeoplearemore certain
rlr:rnever before that they are completely free, and at the same time they
rlrcmselves havebrought us their freedomand obedientlylaid it at our [eet.It
i.,our doing, but is it what you wanted?This sort of freedom?"'
"AgainI don't understand,"Alyosha interrupted."ls he being ironic? Is he
Lrrrghing?"
"Not in the least.He preciselylays it to his and his colleagues'creditthat
rlr,'y have finally overcome freedom, and have done so in order to make
l','opleh"ppy. 'For only now' (he is referring, of course,to the Inquisition)
lr.rsit become possibleto think for the first time about human happiness.
Nt.rnwasmadea rebel;can rebelsbe happy?Youwerewarned,'hesaysto him,
y.rr had no lack of warnings and indications,butyou did not heed the warn-
rrl',5,you rejectedthe only way of arranging for human happiness,but for-
trrrr:rtely, on your departure,you handedthe work over to us.You promised,
r','rr cstablishedwith your word, you gaveus the right to bind and loose,'nand
.rrrr'ly you cannot even think of taking this right away from us now. Why,
rlr,'n,haveyou cometo interferewith us?"'
"What doesit mean,that he had no lack of warningsand indications?"Al-
i','"lraasked.
'' You see,that is the main thing that the old man needsto speakabout.
''' l'he dread and intelligent spirit, the spirit of self-destructionand non-
l', rng,'the old man goeson,'the greatspirit spokewith you in the wilderness,
 TheGrandlnquisitor 253
257 TheBrothersKaramazov

he supposedly"tempted"you'20 lrght with you and defeat you, and everyonewill follow him exclaiming:
and it has been passedon tc,us in books that "Who can compareto this beast,for he has given us fire from heaven!"ttDo
more true than what he pro'
nid he really? And was it possible to sayanything
and which the you know that centurieswill passand mankind will proclaim with the mouth
.f^*"a ,o yotr in his three questions, *hlth yorr rejected'
time' if ever a real' thun' ,rIitswisdom and sciencethat thereis no crime, and thereforeno sin, but only
books refer to as "temptations"?And at the same
was on that day' the {y of those lrungry men? "Feed them first, then ask virtue of theml"-that is what they
d"ring miracle *uu p"ifo,*ed on earth' it
in the appearanceo[ those three willwrite on the bannerthey raiseagainstyou,and bywhich your temple will
,f,.""i"*prutions. The miracle lay precisely
just as a trial and an example' that lrcdestroyed.In placeof your temple a new edifrcewill be raised,the terrible
questions.lf it were possibleto imagine,
from thebookswithout Iower of Babelwill be raisedagain," and though,like the former one,this one
iiror" rt r"" questioniof the dreadspirit had beenlost
be restored' thought up and invented will not be completedeither,still you could haveavoidedthis new tower and
a trace,and it was necessarythat they shortenedpeople'ssuffering by a thousand years-for it is to us they will
and to that end all the wise men on
ur"*, ,o be put back into the books'
poets-were brought to' , ome after sufferingfor a thousandyearswith their towerl They will seekus
earth-rulers, high priests'scholars,philosophers' ()ut again,underground, in catacombs,hiding (for again we shall be perse-
three questions such as
g"tn", and giverithis task: to think up, to invent
but' moreover' would ex' r uted and tortured), they will frnd us and cry out: "Feed us, for those who
would not only correspondto the scaleof the event'
entire future history of promisedus fire from heavendid not give it." And then we shall finish build-
in three human phrasesonly' the
fr.r, ir, ,frr"" words, rrrgtheir tower, for only he who feedsthem will finish it, and only we shall
theworldandmankind_doyouthinkthatallthecombinedwisdomofthe
in force and depth those ltt'd them, in your name, for we shall lie that it is in your name. Oh, never,
earth could think up anything faint\ resembling
you then by the powerful and rrt'verwill they feedthemselveswithout us! No sciencewill give them bread
three questions that were a.t"itly ptesented to
alone' simply by the mir- ,rslong as they remain free, but in the end they will lay their freedom at our
ir,r"fftg"", tpirit in the wildetnestiny the questions
is dealingwith a mind not hu" h'ct and say to us: "Better that you enslaveus, but feedus." They will finally
acleo[ their appearance'one can seethat one
rruderstandthat freedomand earthly breadin plenty for everyoneare incon-
manandtransientbuteternalandabsolute'Forinthesethreequestionsallof
,'ivabletogether,for never, never will they be able to share among them-
,-rrUr"qrr"rr,humanhistoryisasifbroughttogetherintoasinglewholeand '
.,t'lves.They will also be convinced that they are forever incapableof being
all the insoluble historical
foretold; three imagesare revealedthatwill take in
the earth' This could not have been lr,'e, becausethey arefeeble,depraved,nonentitiesand rebels.You promised
contradictions of human nature over all
rlrcmheavenlybread,but, I repeatagain,canit comparewith earthly breadin
seensowellatthetime,forthefuturewasunknown,butnowthatfifteencen.
questions everything was tlrt'eyesof the weak, eternally depraved,and eiernally ignoble human race?
turies have gone by, we can seethat in these three
that to Arrdif in the name of heavenlybread thousandsand tens of thousandswill
,o pr".ir"tyiivined and foretold, and has proved completely true'
so
l,'llow you, what will becomeof the millions and tens of thousandsof mil,
add to them or subtract anything from them is impossible'
questionedyou then? lronsof creatureswho will not be strong enoughto forgo earthlybreadfor the
"'Decide yourselfwho was rifht: you or the onewho
Recallthe first question;itsmeaning,though not
literally' was this: "You want ',rkc of the heavenly?Is it that only the tens of thousandsof the great and
with some promise of ,,1r()ng aredear to you, and the remaining millions, numerous asthe sandsof
io go irrto the world, and you are going empty-handed'
lawlessnesscannot even rlr('sea,weak but loving you, should serveonly as material for the great and
freldom, which they in their simplicity and innate
has everbeen more in' rlrt'strong?No, the weak, too, aredearto us. They are depravedand rebels,
.o*pr"lr.rra, which they d'ead and fear-{or nothing
I'rrt in the end it is they who will becomeobedient.They will marvelat us, and
sufferableformarrandforlrumansocietythanfreedom|Butdoyouseethese
l, upon us asgods,becausewe, standingat their head,haveagreedto suffer
stonesinthisbare,scorchingdesert?Turnthemintobreadandmankindwill 'ok
eternally trembling I r,'r^domand to rule over them-so terriblewill it becomefor them in the end
,rr' uft". you like sheep' griteful andobedient' though
cease for them." Butyou did not r,' lrcfree!But we shall saythat we areobedientto you and rule in your name.
lestyouwithdru*yorrr hui-,dandyourloaves
offer' for what sort of free' \\',' shall deceivethem again,for this time we shall not allow you to come to
want to deprive man of freedo* and rejected the
loaves of bread? You ob' rr', I'his deceit will constitute our suffering,for we shall have to lie. This is
dom is it, you reasonecl,if obedienceis toughtwith
know that in the ,'lr;rtthat first questionin thewildernessmeant,and this is whatyou rejected
live by bread alone' but do you
iected that man does not you and rrr rhe name o[ freedom, which you placed above everything.And yet this
will rise against
name of this very earthly bread, ihe spirit of the earth
 TheBrathersKaramazov
254
question contains the great mystery of this world. Had you accepted thc
"ioulrut," yo,, would have answered the universal and everlasting anguish of
man as an individual being, and of the whole of mankind together, namely:
. ,,beforewhom shall I bow down?" There is no more ceaseless or tormenting
care for man, as long ashe remains free, than to find someoneto bow down tO
as soon as possible. But man seeksto bow down before that which is indis.
putable, so indisputable that all rnen at once would agree to the universal
worship of it. For the care of thesepitiful creaturesis not just to find some.
thing before which I or some other man can bow down, but to find something
that everyone elsewill also believe in and bow down to, for it must needsbC
all together. And this need for communalityof worship is the chief torment of
each man individually, and of mankind as a whole, from the beginning of thc
ages.In the causeof universal worship, they have destroyed each other with
the sword. They have made gods and called upon eachother: 'hbandon your
gods and come and worship ours, otherwise death to you and your godsl"
And so it will be until the end of the world, even when all gods have disap.
peared from the earth: they will still fall down before idols. You knew, you
iould not but know, this essentialmystery of human nature, but you rejected
the only absolute banner, which was offered to you to make all men bow
down to you indisputably-the banner of earthly bread; andyou rejectedit in
the name of freedom and heavenly bread. Now seewhat you did next. And all
again in the name of freedom! I tellyou that man hasno more tormenting car6
than to find someoneto whomhe canhand overasquicklyas possiblethatgift
of freedom with which the miserable creature is born. But he alone can tak€
over the freedom of menwho appeasestheir conscience.With breadyouwerc
given an indisputable banner: give man bread and he will bow down to you'
for there is nothing more indisputable than bread. But if at the same tim1
someone else takes over his conscience-oh, then he will even throw down
your bread and follow him who has seducedhis conscience.In this you werc
right. For the mysteryof man'sbeing is notonly in living, butinwhat one livet
for. Without a firm idea of what he lives for, man will not consent to live and
will sooner destroy himself than remain on earth, even if there is bread all
aroundhim. That is so,butwhatcame of it? Insteadof takingover men'sfree.
dom, you increasedit still more for them! Did you forget that peaceand even
death are dearer to man than free choice in the knowledge of good and evil?
There is nothing more seductive for man than the freedom of his conscience'
but there is nothing more tormenting either. And so, instead of a firm foun.
dation for appeasing human conscience once and for all, you chose every'
thing thatwas unusual, enigmatic, and indefinite, you chose everything thet
was beyond men's strength, and thereby acted as if you did not love them et
TheGrandlnquisitor 255
all-and who did this? He who came to give his life for theml Insteadof tak-
ing over men's freedom, you increasedit and forever burdened the kingdom
of the human soul with its torments.You desiredthe freelove of man, that he
should follow you freely,seducedand captivatedby you. Insteadof the firm
ancient law," man had henceforth to decide for himself, with a free heart,
what is good and what is evil, having only your image before him asa guide-
but did it not occur to you that he would eventuallyreject and dispute even
your image and your truth if he was oppressedby so terrible a burden as free-
tlom of choice?They will finally cry out that the truth is not in you, for it was
impossibleto leave them in greater confusion and torment than you did,
lbandoning them to so many caresand insoluble problems' Thus you your-
selflaid the foundation for the destructionof your own kingdom, and do not
blame anyone else for it. Yet is this what was offered you? There are three
l)owers,only three powers on earth,capableof conqueringand holding cap-
tive forever the conscienceof these feeblerebels, for their own happiness-
rhesepowers are miracle, mystery, and authority. You rejectedthe first, the
.ir:cond,and the third, and gave yourself as an example of that. When the
rlreadand wise spirit set you on a pinnacle of the Templeand said to you: "lf
you would know whether or not you are the Son of God, castyourself down;
krr it is written of him, that the angelswill bearhim up, and he will not fall or
lrc hurt, and then you will know whether you are the Son of God, and will
plove what faith you have in your Father."" But you heard and rejectedthe
r,llerand did notyield and did not throw yourselfdown. Oh, of course,in this
you actedproudly and magnificently,like God, but mankind, that weak' re-
lx'llious tribe-are they gods?Oh, you knew then that if you madejust one
,,tt'p,just one movement towards throwing yourself down, you would im-
rrrcdiatelyhave tempted the Lord and would have lost all faith in him and
lx'cndashedagainstthe earthyou cameto save,and the intelligentspiritwho
w:rstempting you would rejoice.But, I repeat,are there many like you? And,
rrrrleed, could you possiblyhaveassumed,evenfor a moment, that mankind'
too,would be strong enough for such a temptation?Is that how human na-
trrrcwascreated-to reject the miracle,and in thoseterrible momentsof life,
rlrcmomentsof the most terrible, essential,and tormenting questionsof the
',,,rr1,to remain only with the free decision of the heart?Oh, you knew that
y,,rrrdeedwould be preservedin books, would reach the depths of the ages
,rrrrlthe utmost limis of the earth, and you hoped that, following you' man'
rrrr,,lvssld remain with God, having no need of miracles.But you did not
l,rrowthat as soon as man rejectsmiracles,he will at once reject God aswell,
I' rr rnanseeksnot so much God asmiracles.And sinceman cannot bearto be
L lr without miracles,he will go and createnew miraclesfor himself, his own
 TheBrothersKaramazoY TheGrandlnquisitor 257

or women's rhereis a mystery here, and we cannot understandit. And if it is a mystery,

miracles this time, and will bow down to the miracles of quacks,
and godless a hundred times over' then we, too, had the right to preachmystery and to teachthem that it is not
magic, though he be rebellious, heretical,
the free choice of the heart that matters,and not love, but the mystery,which
yoJaia notiome down from the crosswhen they shouted to you, mocking
that it is they must blindly obey, even setting asidetheir own conscience.And so we
and reviling you: "Come down from the cross and we will believe
you again, you did not want to enslave rlid. We correctedyour deedand basedit onmiracle,mystery, and authority.
you."" aia not come down because,
is free, not miraculous' You And mankind rejoicedthat theywereoncemore led like sheep,and thatat last
*an by a miracle and thirsted for faith that
thirsted for love that is [ree, and not for the servile raptures ofa slave before 'uch a terrible gift, which had brought them so much suffering, had been
t;rkenfrom their hearts.Tell me, werewe right in teachingand doing so?Have
a power that has left him permanently terrified' But here, too' you overesti'
reb- wenot, indeed,loved mankind, in so humbly recognizingtheir impotence,in
matedmankind, for, o[course, they areslaves,though theywere created
a look at lovingly alleviating their burden and allowing their feeblenature even to
els. Behold and judge, now that fifteen centuries have passed,take "o
,'in,with our permission?Why haveyou come to interferewith us now? And
weaker
them: whom have you raised up to yourself? I swear,man is created
how can he ever accomplish the same why are you looking at me so silently and understandinglywith your meek
and baserthan youthought himl How,
you behaved as if you had ceased to r'yes?Be angry! I do not want your love, for I do not love you. And what can
things asyou? Respecting him so much,
too much of him-and who did I lridefromyou? Do I notknowwith whom I am speaking?What I haveto tell
be cJmpassionut.,b..urli. you demanded
you would you is all known to you already,I can read it in your eyes.And is it for me to
this? He who loved him more than himself! Respectinghim less,
closer to love, for his burden lrrcleour secretfrom you? Perhapsyou preciselywant to hearit from my lips.
have demandedlessof him, and that would be
matter that he now rebels every' I rsten,then: we are not with you, but with him, that is our secret!For a long
would be lighter. He is weak and mean.what
in this rebellion? The pride of a tune now-eight centuries already-we have not been with you, but with
where against our power, and takes pride
who rebel in class and drive hirn.Exactly eight centuriesago we took from him what you so indignantly
child and a schoolboy! They are little children,
and rr';ccted,28 that last gift he offeredyou when he showedyou all the kingdoms
out the teacher.But there will also come an end to the children's delight,
the earth , theearth:we took Romeand the sword of Caesarfrom him, and proclaimed
it will cost them dearly. They will tear down the temples and drench 'l
, rrselvessole rulers of the earth,the only rulers, though we havenot yet suc-
with blood. nut finaily the foolish children will understand that although 'r
, ,','dedin bringing our causeto its full conclusion. But whose fault is that?
they arerebels,they arefeeblerebels,whocannotenduretheir ownrebellion,
r )l r,thi sw orki sst illinit sver ybeginnings, but it hasbegun. Ther eisst illlong
pouringout their foolish tears,theywill finally acknowledgethat hewho cre'
in de' r,' wait before its completion, and the earth still has much to suffer,but we
ated them rebelsno doubt intended to laugh at them. They will say it '.lrrll accomplishit and we shall be caesars,and then we shall think about the
say will be a blasphemy that will make them even more
spair, and what they
and in the end always rrrrrversalhappinessof mankind. And yet you could have taken the sword of
,r.rhappy, for human nature cannot bear blasphemy
are | ,r('sareven then. Why did you reject that last gift? Had you acceptedthat
tuk"s ,"l'r"ngqfor it. And so, turmoil, confusion,and unhappiness-these
for their freedomlYour rlrrlclcounsel of the mighty spirit, you would have furnished all that man
thepresentlotof mankind, afteryou suffered somuch
',,t'lcson earth, that is: someoneto bow down to, someoneto take over his
greut proph"t tells in a vision and an allegory that he saw all those who took
they were twelve thousand from each ' ' rnscience,and a meansfor uniting everyoneat last into a common, concor-
iu.t i., the first resurrection and that ,l,rrrt, and incontestableanthill-for the needfor universalunion is the third
iribe.'uBut evenif therewereso many,they,too, were notlike men, asitwere'
rrrrllast torment of men. Mankind in its entirety has alwaysyearned to ar-
but gods. They endured your cross,they endured scoresofyears ofhungry
r,rrrgc thingsso that they must be universal.Therehavebeenmany greatna-
and naked wilderness,eatinglocustsand roots,ttand of courseyou can point
rr.11s ryi1figreat histories,but the higher thesenations stood, the unhappier
with pride to these children of freedom, of free love, of free and magnificent
rl ri y were,for theywere more strongly awarethan othersof the needfor a uni-
sacrifice in your name. But remember that there were only several thousand , | | \ill union of mankind. Greatconquerors,Tamerlanesand GenghisKhans,
of them, ani theyweregods.Whatof the rest?Is itthe faultof the restof feeble
.\\'(l)t over the earth Iike a whirlwind, yearning to conquer the cosmos,but
mankind that ttrey could not endu." what the mighty endured? ls it the fault
rlr| y, too, expressed,albeit unconsciously,the samegreat need of mankind
of the weak soul that it is unable to contain such terrible gifts? Can it be that
l,'r rrniversaland generalunion. Had you acceptedthe world and Caesar's
you indeed cameonly to the chosenonesand for the chosenones?But if so,
j

TheGrandlnquisitor 259
258 TheBrothersKaramazoY

granteduniversal piness,the happinessof feeblecreatures,such as they were created.Oh, we

purple, you would have founded a universalkingdom and shall finally convince them not to be proud, for you raised them up and
mankind if not those who possess their con-
i"u.". no. who shall possess in tak- tlrerebytaught them pride; we shall prove to them that they are feeble,that
sword, and
lcience and give them iheir bread?And sowe took Caesar's thcy are only pitiful children, but that a child's happinessis sweeterthan any
centuries
ingit, of couise,we rejectedyouand followed him' Oh' therewillbe ,rther.Theywill becometimid and look to usand cling to us jn fear,like chicks
and anthropophagy-
mlre of the lawlessnessof freereason,of their science to a hen. They will marvel and stand in awe of us and be proud that we are so
f or , hav ingbe g u n to b u i l d th e i rT o w e ro fB a bel w i thoutus' theyw i l l endi n
to us and lick lrowerfuland so intelligent asto havebgenableto subduesuch a tempestuous
anthropoihafrr. nna it is tt en rhat the beastwill come crawling lkrck of thousandsof millions. They will tremble limply before our wrath,
And we shall sit
o.r, r""i *a ,-"pr,,", them with tears of blood from its eyes. rlrcir minds will grow timid, their eyeswill becomeastearful aschildren'sor
cup, and on it will be written: "Mystery!"'e But
upon the beastand raisethe women's,but just as readily at a gesturefrom us they will passover to gaiety
of peace and happiness come for man-
tli*, ,r,d then only, will the kingdom ,rrrdlaughter,to brightjoyand happychildren'ssong.Yes,wewill make them
only your chosen
klnd. you are proud of your chosettones, but you have work, but in the hours free from labor we will arrangetheir lives like a chil-
more: how many among those
ones,while we will pacify all' And there is still ,lrcn'sgame,with children'ssongs,choruses,and innocent dancing.Oh, we
become chosen ones' have fi-
chosenones, the ,t1o.rg on", who might have will allow them to sin, too; they areweak and powerless,and theywill love us
and will yet bring the
;;Iiy gt";; tired of wa]ting for you, and have brought lrlicchildren forallowing them to sin. We will tell them that every sin will be
field, and will
po*"i, of thbir spirit and ii-," uiao, of their hearts to anorher r,'tleemedif it is committed with our permission;and that we allow them to
that banner your-
end by raisin gthiir freebanneragainstyoul But you raised ',rnbecausewe love them, and asfor the punishment for thesesins,very well,
self.Withuseveryonewillbehappy,andtheywillnolongerrebelordestroy rvt'take it upon ourselves.And we will take it upon ourselves,and they will
convincethem that
eachother, asin your freedom,t""iy*h"t"' Oh, we shall ,r,loreus asbenefactors,who haveborne their sins beforeGod. And they will
theywillonlybecomefreewhentheyresigntheirfreedomtous,andsubmit lr,rveno secretsfrom us. We will allow or forbid them to live with their wives
They themselveswill
to us.Will we be right, do you think, or will we be lying? .irrrlmistress€s,to haveor not to havechildren-all dependingon their obe-
for theywill remember towhathorrors of slav'
beconvinced thatwe areright, ,lrt'119s-andthey will submit to us gladly andjoyfully. The most tormenting
them' Freedom' free reason' and science
ery and confusion your freedomled '.,'tr.etsofthei16qn56lgn6s-all,alltheywillbringtous,andwewilldecideall
miraclesand
will lead them into such a maze' and confront them with such rlrrngs, and theywilljoyfullybelieveourdecision,because itwill deliverthem
insolublemysteries,thatsomeo[them,unrulyandferocious'willextermi- lr orn their great careand their presentterrible torments of personaland free
eachother; and
nate themselves;others, unruly but feeble,will exterminate ,l,'t ision.And everyonewill be happy,all the millions of creatures,exceptfor
to our feet and cry out to
the remaining third, feebleand wretched,will crawl rlr,'hundred thousandof thosewho govern them. For only we, we who keep
and we are coming
us: "Yes,yo.i*"r" right, you alone possesshis mystery' rlr('rnystery,only we shall be unhappy.Therewill be thousandsof millions of
us, they will see
back to you_ru,r" *ri fro* ourselves."Receivingbreadfrom lr.rppybabes,and a hundred thousandsuffererswho have taken upon them-
procured with
clearly,of .ourr", that we take from them the bread they have ., lvcs the curse of the knowledge of good and evil. Peacefullythey yill die,
any miracle;
their own hands, in order to distribute it among them' without
not turned stones into bread; but' indeed' morc I'r',rccfullythey will expire in your name,and beyond the gravethey will find
they will see that we have
hands! For ,'rrlydeath. But we will keep the secret,and for their own happinesswe will
they will rejoice over taking it from our
than over the breaditself, , rrt ice them with a heavenlyand eternalreward. For even if there were any-
that before, without us, the very bread they
they will rememberonly too well rlrrrrg in the next world, it would not, of course,be for such as they. It is said
when they came
procured fo. themselvesturned to stonesin their hands' and ,,,,,1prophesiedthat you will come and once more be victorious,you will
turned to bread' Too well' far too
tack to us, the very stonesin their hands , , 'rrrt'with your chosenones,with your proud and mighty ones,but we will
once and for alll And until
well, will they appreciatewhat it meansto submit ry t hat they savedonly themselves,while we havesavedeveryone.It is said
contributed most of all ttt
men understand this, they will be unhappy.who rIr.rr t h€ harlot who sits upon the beastand holds mysteryin her handswill be
flock and scattered it
this lack of understanding,tell me?Who broke up the ,l' ,1ir.aced, that the feeblewill rebel again,that they will tear her purple and
again-submit'
upon paths unknown? nut the flock will gather again' and .r rI r bareher "loathsome"body.roBut then I will standup and point out to you
and for all. Then we shall give them quiet, humble hap" '
and this time once
 TheBrothetsKaramazov TheGrandlnquisitor 26L
260
sin' And we' who but the lust for power only for the sakeof filthy lucre?Did FatherPaissyteach
the thousandsof millions of happy babeswho do not know
you that?"
tooktheirsinsuponourselvesfortheirhappiness'wewillstandbeforeyou
not afraid of you' "No, no, on the contrary,FatherPaissyonceevensaidsomethinglike what
and say: 'Judge us if you can and dare'" Know that I am
and roots; that you . . . but not like that, of course,not at all like that," Alyosha suddenly
Know that I, too, was in the wilderness,and I, too, atelocusts
and I' too' was recollectedhimself.
I, too, blessedfreedom,with which you haveblessedmankind'
of the strong 'A precious bit of information, however,despiteyour'not at all like that.
preparing to enter the number of your chosenones,the number
"that the number be complete."" But I awoke and I askyou specifically:why should yourJesuitsand Inquisitorshavejoined to-
l"a *igf.,',y, with a thirst
getheronly for material wicked lucre?Why can't there happen to be among
didnot wa n tto s e rv e m a d n e s s .Ire tu rn edandj oi nedthehostofthos.ew ho
them at leastone suflererwho is tormented by greatsadnessand loves man-
havecorrectedyourdeed.llefttheproudandreturnedtothehumble,forthe
kind? Look, supposethat one among all thosewho desireonly material and
huppl,'",,ofttrehumble.Whatlamtellingyouwillcometrue,andourking-
this obedientflock, filthy lucre, that one of them, at least,is like my old Inquisitor, who himself
dom will be established.Tomorrow, I repeat,you will see
coals around your stake' at ateroots in the desertand raved,overcominghis flesh,in order to make him-
which at my first gesturewill rush to heap hot
with us' For if anyonehas self free and perfect, but who still loved mankind all his life, and suddenly
which I shall burnyou for having come to interfere
you' Dixi'"'" openedhis eyesand saw that thereis no greatmoral blessedness in achieving
ever deservedour stake,it is you' Tomorrow I shall burn
with such perfectionof the will only to becomeconvinced,at the sametime, that mil-
Ivan stopped. He was flushed from speaking' and from speaking
lions of the rest of God's creatureshave been set up only for mockery, that
enthusiasmfbutwhen he finished,he suddenlysmiled'
they will never be strong enough to managetheir freedom, that from such
Alyosha,whoallthewhilehadlistenedtohimsilently,thoughtowardsthe
his brother's pitiful rebelswill never come giantsto completethe tower, that it was not for
end, in great agitation, he had startedmany times to interrupt
rest.ained himself, suddenly spoke as if tearing himself such geesethat the great idealist had his dream of harmony. Having under-
speechtut obuiourly
stood all that, he returned and joined . . . the intelligent people. Couldn't
loose.
. . B ut . ' .th a t' s a b s u rd l ' ' h e c ri e d ,b l ushi ng.,.Y ourpoemprai sesJesus,i t this have happened?"
you about "Whom did he join? What intelligent people?"Alyoshaexclaimed,almost
doesn,trevile him . . . as you meant it to. And who will believe
it? It's a far cry from the Or- passionately.. "They are not so very intelligent, nor do they have any great
freedom? ls that, is that any way to understand
whole of Rome, that isn't true- mysteriesand secrets. . . Except maybe for godlessness, that's their whole
thodox idea . . . It's Rome,and not eventhe
the.]esuits ' ' ' I But there secret.Your Inquisitor doesn'tbelievein God, that'shis whole secret!"
they're the worst o[ Catholicism, the lnquisitors,
your Inquisitor' What "What of it! At last you've understood.Yes,indeed,that aloneis the whole
.o,rldno, even possibly be such a fantasticperson as
who \ccret,but is it not suffering,if only for such a man as he, who haswastedhis
sins do they take on themselves?who are these bearersof the mystery
Has anyone whole life on a greatdeedin the wildernessand still hasnot beencured of his
took some sort of curse upon themselvesfor men's happiness?
them, but are Iovefor mankind? In his decliningyearshe comesto the clearconviction that
everseenthem?we know theJesuits,bad things aresaid about
They'resimply or-rlythe counselsof the great and dreadspirit could at leastsomehow orga-
theywhat you havethere?They'renot that,not that at all'''
future universal earthly kingdom, with the emperor- nize the feeblerebels,'the unfinished, trial creaturescreatedin mockery,'in
Ro*ut army, for a
^ their head . . . that's their ideal, but without any ;r tolerableway. And so, convinced of that, he seesthat one must follow the
the pontiff ofRome-at
rlirectivesof the intelligent spirit, the dread spirit of death and destruction,
m y s t eri e s o rl o fty s a d n e s s ...S i mp l y thel ustforpow er' forfi l thyearthl yl u-
the landown- ,rndto that end acceptlies and deceit,and lead people,consciouslynow, to
cre,r, enslarrement . . . a sort of future serfdom with them as
don't even believe in God. Your suf' tlcath and destruction, deceivingthem, moreover,all along the way, so that
ers . . that's all they have. Maybe they
tlreysomehow do not notice where they are being led, so that at leaston the
fering Inquisitor is only a fantasy ' . ."
..But wait, wait,'' Ivan was laughing, ,.don'tget so excited. A fantasy,you rvaythesepitiful, blind men consider themselveshuppy.And deceivethem,
you really think rrotice,in the nameof him in whoseidealthe old man believedso passionately
say?Let it be. of course it's a fantasy.But still, let me ask: do
is really nothing ,rllhis Iife! Is that not a misfortune?And if evenone such man. at least.finds
that this whole catholic movement of the past few centuries
262 TheBrothersKaramazoY
himself at the head of that whole army'lusting for power only for the sake of
filthy lucre,'is one such man, at least,not enough to make a tragedy?More.
over, one such man standing at is head would be enough to bring out finally
the real ruling idea of the whole Roman cause,with all its armies andJesu'
its-the highest idea of this cause.I tell you outright that I firmly believe that
this one man has never been lacking among those standing at the head of the
movement. Who knows, perhapssuch'ones'have even been found among
the Roman pontiffs. Who knows, maybe this accursed old man, who loves
mankind so stubbornly inhisownway, existsevennow, in the formof agreat
host of such old men, and by no meansaccidentally,but in concert, asa secret
union, organized long ago for the purpose of keeping the mystery, of keeping
it from unhappy and feeble mankind with the aim of making them happy. lt
surely exists, and it should be so. I imagine that even the Masons have some'
thing like this mystery as their basis,'"and that Catholics hate the Masonsso
much becausethey seethem ascompetitors, breaking up the unityof the idea'
whereas there should be one flock and one shepherd . . . However, the way
I'm defending my thought makes me seem like an author who did not stand
up to your criticism. Enough of that."
"Maybe you're a Mason yourself!" suddenly escapedfrom Alyosha. "You
don't believe in God," he added, this time with great sorrow. Besides, it
seemedto him that his brother was looking at him mockingly. "And how doel
your poem end," he asked suddenly, staring at the ground, "or was that the
end?"
"I was going to end it like this: when the Inquisitor fell silent, he waited
some time for his prisoner to reply. His silence weighed on him. He had seen
how the captive listened to him all thewhile intentlyand calmly,lookinghim
straight in the eye, and apparently not wishing to contradict anything. Thc
old man would have liked him to say something, even something bitter, ter.
rible. But suddenly he approachesthe old man in silence and gently kisser
him on his bloodless, ninety-year-old lips. That is the whole answer.The old
man shudders. Something stirs at the corners of his mouth; he walks to thc
door, opens it, and saysto him:'Go and do not come again . . . do not comc
at all . . . never, never!' And he lets him out into the 'dark squares of thc
city.'35The prisoner goesaway."
'And the old man?"
"The kiss burns in his heart, but the old man holds to his former idea."
'hnd you with him!" Alyosha exclaimed ruefully. Ivan laughed.
"But it's nonsense,Alyosha, it's just the muddled poem of a muddled stu.
dent who never wrote two lines of verse.Why are you taking it so seriously?
You don't think I'll go straight to theJesuitsnow, to join the host of those who
The Grandlnquisitor 263
rrrecorrecting his deed! Good lord, what do I care?As I told you: I just want
r()drag on until I'm thirty, and then-smash the cup on the floorl"
'And the sticky little leaves,and the preciousgraves,and the blue sky, and
rhewoman you love! How will you live, what wilr you love them with?,'Al-
yoshaexclaimedruefully. "Is it possible,with such hell in your heart and in
y.ur head?No, you're preciselygoing in order to join them . . . and if not,
you'll kill yourself,you won't endure it!"
"There is a force that will endure everything,"said lvan, this time with
a
t old smirk.
"What force?"
"The Karamazovforce . . . the force of the Karamazovbaseness."
"To drown in depravity,to stifle your soul with corruption, is that it?,'
"That, too, perhaps . . . only until my thirtieth year maybe l,ll
escapeit,
,rndthen.. ."
"How will you escapeit? By meansof what? with your thoughts, it's im-
qrossible."
'Again, in Karamazovfashion,"
"You mean'everythingis permitted'?Everythingis permitted,
is that right,
r' ,i t?"
lvan frowned, and suddenly turned somehowstrangelypale.
'Ah, you caught that little remark yesterday,which
offended Miusov so
rrrtrch. . . and that brother Dmitri so naively popped up and rephrased?,'he
grrnnedcrookedly. "Yes,perhaps'everything is permitted,'since the
word
lr,rsalreadybeenspoken.I do not renounceit. And Mitenka'sversionis not
so
|,;rtl" .
Alyosha was looking at him silently.
"t thought, brother, that when I left here I'd have you,
at least,in all the
rv,'r'ld,"Ivan suddenlyspokewith unexpectedfeeling,"but now I seethat
in
v.rrr heart,too, there is no room for me, my dearhermit. The formula, ,every-
rhr'g is permitted,'Iwill not renounce,andwhat then?will you renounce
me
l,,r tltat?Will you?"
Alyoshastoodup,wentoverto him insilence,andgentlykissedhim on the
It;rs
"l.iterary theft!" Ivan cried, suddenly going into
some kind of rapture.
\',rrrstolethat from my poem! Thank you, however.Getup, Alyosha,let,s
go,
ir ,,rimewe both did."
I hey went out, but stoppedon the porch of the tavern.
'So,Alyosha," Ivan spoke in
a frrm voice, ,,if, indeed, I hold out for the
"r', l<ylittleleaves, Ishalllovethemonlyrememberingyou.It'senoughforme
tlr'rryou are here somewhere,and I shall not stop wanting to live. Is
that
264 TheBrothersKaramazov ARatherObscure
One zo)

And now
enough for you? If you wish, you can take it asa declarationoflove'
even if I
y"" i" right, ttt go left-a.td enough, you hear, enough''uI mean'
don' t goa w a y to m o rro w (b u ti ts e e ms l certai nl yshal l ),andw esomehow Chapter6
urgent re'
meet a-gain,not another word to me on any of thesesubjects'An
quest. ind with regard to brother Dmitri, too, I ask you particularly,
do not A RatherObscure
Onefor theMoment
mention him to me again," he suddenly added irritably. "lt's,all ex'
"u"r..,r"r, it's all talked out, isn't it? And in return for that, I will alsomake you
hausted,
floor" then' Ar.rdIvan Fyodorovich, on parting from Alyosha,
a promise: when I'm thirty and want'to smash the cup on the went home to Fyodor pav-
to talk things over with you once house. But, strangely,an unbearableanguish
*ir"r".r", you may be, I will still come suddenly came over
Iwillmakeapointof it. ltwillalso 'rvich's
lrim, and, moreover,the closerhe cameto home,
more . . . evenfromAmerica,lassureyou. theworse itgrewwith every
of yQu' \rep. The strangenesslay not in the anguish
be very interestingto havea look at you by then, to seewhat'sbecome itself, but rn thl fact that Ivan
we're saying good' lryodo-rovichsimply could not define what the anguish
Rathei a solemn promise, you see.And indeed, perhaps consistedof. He had
he'l
bye for somesevenor ten years.well, go now to your Paterseraphicus;" "lten felt anguish before,and it would be no wonder if it cameat such a mo_
having kept rrent, when he was preparing, the very next
dying, and if he dies without you, you may be angry with me for day, having u"aa.nfy i_f."n
now go ' '" with everything that had drawn him there, to make
you.-Good-bye,kiss me once more-so-and u.rort"r rhu.pi*r,,
suddenly and went his way without looking back' lt was sim' r('rng upon a new, completeryunknown path, again "r_
Ivan turned quite aslonely asberbre,
Dmitri had left Alyosha the day before, though thc lraving-muchhope, but notknowing for what,
ilar ro the way his brottrer expecting much, too much,
quite different. This strange Iittle observation lrom life' but unable himserfto define anything
day before it was something ertler in iis expectationsor
the sad mind of Alyosha, sad and sorrowful et {'venin his desires.And yet at that *o*.nt,
fUsn"a like an arrow throuth though th" unguir'hoirn. n"*
that moment. He waited a liitle, looking after his brother. For somereasonhc 'r'd'nknown was indeed in his soul, he was tormented bylomething quite
somehow swayed as he walked, and tlifferent."can it be loathing for my father's
suddenly noticed that his brother lvan house?,,hethought to himserf.
lower than his left. He had ' very likely. I'm so sick of it, and
that his right shoulder,seenfrom behind,appeared though todayI shall crossthat".rirethreshold
and almost ran to tha l,r the last time, stilr it makesme si'ck. . ."
never noticed it before. But suddenly he, too, turned But no, thatwas not it. was it the
monastery. lt was already getting quite dark, and he felt almost frightenedi Partingwith Alyosha and the conversarionhe had had with him? ,,For
so
to ex. yearsI was silent with the whole worrd and did
something new was growing in him, which he would have been unable 'any not deign to speak,and
pine trecl ruddenlyI spewedout so much gibberish!,'Indeed,
plain. ThJwind roseagainasit had yesterday,and the centuries-old it couli have'beenthe
was al' y.uthful vexation of youthful inexperienceand
iustled gloomily uro,ri-,dhim as he entered the hermitage woods. He youthful vanit,
lravingbeen unable to speakhis mind, especialy """uiio'u,
most running. "PaterSeraphicus-he got that name from somewhere-but with ,r.h ; #ir;'u, oryo-
I sel on
where?,,flashedthrough Alyosha'smind. "Ivan, poor Ivan, when shall ''a, whom he undoubtedry counted u g."ut deal in his heart. 6f .o.r.r"
here's the hermitage! Yes, yes, that's him, Pater Sert. tlrerewas that, too' that is, this vexation, tli"r"
you again . . . ? Lord' .u"n had to be, but it was not
thateither, nor that at all. ,Anguish to the point
phicus, he will saveme . . ' from him, and forever!" o[naus*, y", ir], i"yorra r"
how hr r()saywhar I want. perhapsI shouldn,tthink
Several times, later in his life, in great perplexity, he wondered . . .,,
lvan, so completely forgct Ivan Fyodorovich tried "not to think," but that,
could suddenly, after parting with his brother too, was no use.Above all,
that morning' only a feW rlrisanguishwas vexing and annoyedhim
about his brother Dmiiri, when he had resolved by the fact that it had some sort of
until he did, even lf ,rtcidental,completely external upp"urur..;
hours earlier,that he musr nnd him, anclwould not leave this he felt. Somewheresome
lrcingor object was standing and sticking up,.iust
it meant not returning to the monastery that night' aswhen somethingsome-
rirnessticks up in firontof one'seye and on.
dt"urr't notice it for a lorig time,
lrcingbusy or in heatedconversation,and meanwhile
one is crea.r/unioy.a,
'r'nost suffering,and at last it dawns on one to remove the offendingobiect,
.lten quite trifling and ridiculous, something
left in the wrong ptu."lu nura-